Author archives

Trump Administration Continues Scrubbing Statistics and Disappearing Data

Via LLRX – Trump Administration Continues Scrubbing Statistics and Disappearing Data – What is the status of the official data published by U.S. federal statistical agencies? As the current administration continues its disassembling of huge swaths of the federal government, not only are the workers and services gone, so of course is much of the data …

Subjects: Censorship, Climate Change, E-Government, E-Records, Economy, Education, Energy, Environmental Law, Government Documents, Health Care, Housing, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Medicine

New Livestream Brings Microfiche Digitization to Life for Democracy’s Library

Internet Archive Blogs: “Ever wonder how government documents, once locked away on tiny sheets of microfiche, become searchable and accessible online? Now you can see it happen in real time. Today, the Internet Archive has launched a livestream from our microfiche scanning center (https://www.youtube.com/live/aPg2V5RVh7U), offering a behind-the-scenes look at the meticulous work powering Democracy’s Library—a …

Subjects: E-Records, Education, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Search Engines

Something Alarming Is Happening to the Job Market

The Atlantic no paywall: “Something strange, and potentially alarming, is happening to the job market for young, educated workers. According to the New York Federal Reserve, labor conditions for recent college graduates have “deteriorated noticeably” in the past few months, and the unemployment rate now stands at an unusually high 5.8 percent. Even newly minted …

Subjects: Economy, Education, Financial System, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

Trump Global Tariffs Deemed Illegal, Blocked by Trade Court

Bloomberg – no paywall: “The bulk of President Donald Trump’s global tariffs were deemed illegal and blocked by the US trade court, dealing a major blow to a pillar of the Republican’s economic agenda. A panel of three judges at the US Court of International Trade in Manhattan issued a ruling Wednesday siding with Democratic-led …

Subjects: Congress, Courts, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

White House ends public access to official transcripts, announcements, remarks

Follow up to Trump’s disappearing transcripts, via Ben Amata [Government Information Librarian, California State University, Sacramento]: “The White House has removed a database of official transcripts documenting the President’s announcements and appearances. The “remarks” section of the White House website provides only YouTube videos rather than the transcripts that for decades past administrations have published. …

Subjects: Censorship, E-Government, E-Records, Freedom of Information, Government Documents, Legal Research

U.S. Spy Agencies Are Getting a One-Stop Shop to Buy Your Most Sensitive Personal Data

The Intercept: “The ever-growing market for personal data has been a boon for American spy agencies. The U.S. intelligence community is now buying up vast volumes of sensitive information that would have previously required a court order, essentially bypassing the Fourth Amendment. But the surveillance state has encountered a problem: There’s simply too much data …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, E-Government, E-Records, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research, Privacy, Social Media

AI Hallucination Cases

Damien Charlotin: “This database tracks legal decisions  in cases where generative AI produced hallucinated content – typically fake citations, but also other types of arguments. It does not track the (necessarily wider) universe of all fake citations or use of AI in court filings. While seeking to be exhaustive (121 cases identified so far), it …

Subjects: AI, Courts, Government Documents, Internet, Knowledge Management, Legal Research

The Weather & Climate Livestream

The Weather & Climate Livestream is a non-partisan event that aims to educate and inform the public about weather and climate issues. We provide a platform for experts to share their knowledge and insights on the value of public funded science. Information for speakers – If you’re a meteorologist or climate scientist who has been …

Subjects: Climate Change, Environmental Law

New Investigative Report – Fired Inspectors General Identified More Savings than DOGE

REPORT: “Undermining the Watchdogs: The 19 Independent Inspectors General Fired by President Trump Uncovered Billions in Fraud, Waste, and Abuse” “U.S. Senator Gary Peters (D-MI), Ranking Member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, released a report detailing the Trump Administration’s unprecedented attacks on Inspectors General – the independent watchdogs tasked with rooting …

Subjects: Congress, Economy, Financial System, Government Documents, Legal Research

Why AI May Be Listening In on Your Next Doctor’s Appointment

WSJ no paywall: “Even the hospital walls may soon have ears. A fast-growing technology known as ambient listening is taking over an onerous but necessary task in healthcare: documenting what happens in the doctor-patient encounter. Already gaining traction for outpatient medical visits, the AI-powered systems are also moving into hospital rooms and emergency departments to …

Subjects: AI, Civil Liberties, Health Care, Legal Research, Medicine, Privacy